Macau Revenue Rises to Record as Casinos Expand

By Billy Chan -
Apr 2, 2013

Macau’s gambling revenue jumped 25
percent to a record in March as casino operators expand and add
more hotel rooms to draw tourists from China’s mainland.

Revenue in the world’s largest gambling hub rose to 31.3
billion patacas ($3.9 billion) in March, topping the December
high of 28.2 billion patacas, according to data from Macau’s
Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau. That was higher than
the median estimate of 30.5 billion patacas from seven analysts
surveyed by Bloomberg News.

Revenue is climbing in the former Portuguese colony as
operators including Galaxy Entertainment Group Ltd. (27) and Sands
China Ltd. (1928) expand on Macau’s Cotai area, Asia’s version of the
Las Vegas Strip. Galaxy has received approval from the Macau
government to add 50 gambling tables, Deputy Chairman Francis
Lui said last month.

Sands China has been adding more hotel rooms under the
Sheraton brand. It plans to invest at least $2.5 billion to
build The Parisian, its fifth resort in Macau. Increased
capacity at casino resorts encourages more gamblers to visit and
stay longer, according to Bloomberg Industries analysts Tim
Craighead and Brian Miller.

Business from both mass-market and VIP, or high-stake
gamblers, has been strong, RBC Capital Markets analyst John
Kempf wrote in a March 25 note.